Russian sleeper agents exposed and deported from the United States in 2010 were actively grooming members' children to carry on their undercover espionage, a news report said.
Agents' children represented an especially valuable asset, as they would be more likely to pass the background checks necessary to work in high-profile U.S. institutions, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing current and former U.S. officials.
According to the report, Tim Foley, who had just finished his second year at the prestigious George Washington University at the time of his parents' arrest, had already agreed to travel to Russia to receive spy training and continue his parents' work. The 10-person spy ring had seven children ranging between 1 and 20 years old, the report said. All but one returned to Russia with their parents following a spy-swap deal in which four agents convicted of spying in Russia for the West were released.
(MT)
